Japan in a Nutshell

I promise to come back with more details on our two week trip to Nihon, but here's a quick run through after finally sitting down and spending 10 minutes quickly scanning through some of our photos.

Here's a quick tour and a little of what I learned those two weeks ...

 First off, I learned right away that we are freaking AWESOME (or insane, depending on how you look at it).  After some 30 hours of non-stop travel, we finally got to our hotel for a good night's rest before waking up bright and early to spend our first day in Tokyo doing an 18 mile bike tour of the city.  The Tokyo Great Cycling Tour was one of my favorites and highly recommended.  The best way to see the city. 

 As Matt put it, "There are Japanese people EVERYWHERE!"  It's a little intimidating at first when you realize how obvious it is that you don't quite fit in. 

 Y'all, my dad is hilarious.  Don't let his quiet, "shy" demeanor fool you.  He's a big goof and a whole lot of fun.  I think he's saying either "pea-su" or "word to your muthah".

Another thing about my parents - they are the model for what I hope my marriage to be.  The best example of a loving, Godly relationship that I can think of. 

It's not just my dad that cracks me up.  My whole family is made up of a bunch of goofs and kept me laughing for two weeks straight.  Like this kid.  He's another undercover jokester/prankster. 

 I like to think of myself of just above average when it comes to height, but next to my husband, I'm a shorty!  This is one of the reasons I like wearing heels. Too bad they didn't give Matt a sword to try on.  I think that would have really completed his outfit. 

Boys will pee just about anywhere...

We were rock stars over there.  I can't count how many school kids came up and asked for our autographs and to take photos with us.  It kind of sucks to come back home and not have people running up to you like this anymore.  Ahhh, back to the life of the commoner.

Castles are cool, at least the first couple that you tour.  After that, your feet start hurting and the white boys in the group start complaining about the bazillionth castle you've seen that day. 

I was so spoiled by the food there.  We went to the supermarket one night and got some of the best sushi we had on our trip.  And, it was cheap!  Publix don't have nothin' on their sashimi!

My family is always up for fun.  I really love this about them. Not only do they entertain me, but also all of the Japanese kids and passerby.  I'm glad we didn't get kicked out of the park, or told we couldn't ride down the slide like this anymore (like the 3 of us girls and my dad were told back in '97).

Thirteen years later, the whole fam back in Japan.  I'm so glad we were able to take this trip.  We've been talking about doing it for the last decade, and I think these memories will last a lifetime.